A Table Alphabeticall is the abbreviated title…
July 1604 CE
A Table Alphabeticall is the abbreviated title of the first monolingual dictionary in the English language, created by Robert Cawdrey and in 1604 first published in London.
Although the work is important in being the first collection of its kind, it will never be deemed a particularly useful work.
At only one hundred and twenty pages, it lists two thousand five hundred and forty-three words along with very brief (often single-word) definitions.
In most cases, it is little more than a list of synonyms.
Its claimed purpose is "for the benefit and helpe of Ladies, Gentlewomen, or other unskillful persons".
The words chosen are quite arbitrary and often obscure.
Many other English dictionaries will follow within a few decades.
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